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COPYRIGHT REFORM PROCESS
SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED REGARDING THE CONSULTATION PAPERS
Documents received have been posted in the official language in which they were submitted. All are posted as received by the departments, however all address information has been removed.
Submission from James R. Mitchell received on September 06, 2001 6:09 AM via e-mail
Subject: copyright law
It's so obvious that in this digital age, the traditional rights of the consumer need to be protected. The problems apparent in the US with the DMCA clearly illustrate the flaws in this type of legislation. Look at what has happened due to the DMCA:
1. A News reporting website(2600) links to another website with details
of how some really poor encryption was broken. Instead of fixing the
problem, the NEWS company that reported on the other companies efforts
is being charged criminally under the DMCA.
2. A university professor who realizes how pathetic SDMI fingerprinting
for music is plans to release a paper discussing his findings. He is
coerced into silence by the RIAA with threats of criminal charges under
the DMCA. When he later sues them, they deny any intention to press
charges, or any threats made.
3. A Russian programmer, doing his job in Russia, writing software that
brings Adobe software into compliance with Russian Law, is arrested in
the US for violating the DMCA, at Adobe's request. Adobe continues to
market software which prohibits any uses that have been allowed under
law as "fair use" for centuries.
It is crucial that any modern copyright law continue to protect the rights of the consumers regarding media in a digital form, including:
1. The right to make backup copies of software or other media.
2. The right to take music that is purchased on media such as a CD, or
purchased for download, and copy that music to any other media, such as
MP3 recordings for use on an MP3 player.
3. The right to make custom compilations of purchased music for personal
use.
4. The right to sell or loan a purchased material, such as music or an
ebook.
5. The right to make copies of copyrighted material for educational or
critical purposes, such as excerpts.
6. The right to use that material, such as an e-book, on any computer
equipment the purchaser desires, not being limited to the equipment it
is initially downloaded onto.
7. The right to get a refund on the purchase of any material which has
been debilitated as in the following section.
Moreover, laws need to be enacted banning the practice of any technique designed to circumvent these basic consumer rights, such as:
1. The intentional "making defective" of music by adding noises that are
only heard when a digital copy is made.
2. The locking of ebook software to prevent transfer, backup or copying
of the material.
Any company found to be selling such crippled or defective products
needs to be penalized, in addition to providing refunds to all
purchasers of such defective product. We cannot condone the intentional
sale of defective products.
It's very easy in this day and age to think only of the rights of the publisher, without thinking of the rights of the consumer. Obviously, the consumer must come first, for it they aren't comfortable purchasing, such as with current crippled ebooks, the publisher will have no customer base. Have the courage to protect the people instead of the corporations that sponsor the current government.
--James Mitchell
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